A request to all County Child Welfare Services and Probation to send in updates to the Disaster Plan. [Download]

Notice of a change in process for submitting the Letter of Intent to CDSS for counties (new and continuing) participating in THPP and/or THP-Plus. [Download]

This ACLs advises county child welfare and probation departments of the requirement to provide notification to relatives of children being placed into out-of-home care. Effective January 1, 2010, social workers and probation officers must exercise due diligence to identify and engage relatives and to provide notice to those relatives when a child is removed from their home. Within 30 days of a child’s removal from the home, the county must conduct an investigation to identify and locate all grandparents, adult siblings and other adult relatives, including those suggested by the parents. Due diligence efforts shall include asking the child in an age-appropriate manner about relatives important to the child and obtaining information regarding the location of the child’s adult relatives. Parents are required to disclose to the social worker the names, addresses and any known identifying information of any maternal or paternal relatives of the child. There is preferential consideration for placement is given to an adult who is a grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling of the child, and DV exceptions to the notice requirement. The letter also sets out the requirements for the content of the notice, and special facts for probation cases. [Download]

On December 14, 2009, the Court issued an amended Preliminary Injunction to prohibit the rate reduction for all children placed in group homes, whether or not they are federally eligible. Therefore, the state is enjoined from reducing rates for any children in group home care. For services rendered November 04, 2009 forward, counties shall pay the rates shown in the letter. If the county has already paid a non federally eligible child the lower rate, a supplemental check must be issued. [Download]

Notice of the new training options under the “Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008.” Training can now be provided to relative guardians, State-licensed or State-approved child welfare agencies providing services, members of staff of abuse and neglect courts, agency attorneys, attorneys representing children or parents, guardians ad litem, and court-appointed special advocates representing children in proceedings of such courts. The participation rates for the new groups will be phased in. [Download]

An update to last year’s instructions to counties for certifying to system utilization of the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System in order to secure the available funding augmentation. [Download]